Federal Judge Florence Cooper dies in Santa Monica

LOS ANGELES 
Federal Judge Florence Marie Cooper, who presided over such high-profile cases as the Winnie the Pooh copyright dispute, has died. She was 69.

Audrey B. Collins, the chief judge of the California's federal central district, says Cooper died Friday at a Santa Monica hospital while being treated for lymphoma.

Cooper made headlines dismissing the case against an accused Chinese spy on grounds of governmental misconduct. She also presided over the two-decade copyright battle over the cartoon character Winnie the Pooh as well as a case brought by the family of rapper Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace.

President Clinton appointed her to the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in 1999. She had announced plans to retire in March.